Rating: 
Summary: ...
Review: Its seems to me that there really are alot of people out there who know nothing about animation, (especially after reading the other reviews this book has received), and unfortunately this book does nothing to help the situation.
As a "professional animator" I found this book totally useless, the drawings especially are total rubbish, there are pages of useless information and even some of the more important topics are covered incorrectly and in way that could only confuse people trying to genuinely learn about flash animation.
Its a shame that a book as bad as this is one of the only resources available to people wanting to learn animation in flash.The fact that this guy promotes himself as a "professional" animator when in reality with his drawing ability he may have been a half-baked inbetweener at best is as outrageous as the idea that anyone could be inspired to produce anything worthwhile out of the information provided in his book.
Dont waste your money or your time, if you learn to draw and animate like Ibis your career will be over before it even begins
Rating: 
Summary: FOUND ! -The FUN side of Macromedia Flash !
Review: The honest, direct, and lighthearted way Ibis Fernandez teaches Cartooning and animation in Macromedia Flash is a boon to people high on the creative level but impatient with the dry technical manuals that expect you to understand software jargon..When your inner 'toon "just wants to get with it"...Well Ibis Get's with it alright, and explains things just like he's in the chair across from your computer workspace..I know if I had this book a year or so ago I would've been way more productive than I have been with deciphering the Flash Textbooks and "Inventing " ways to cartoon at a realistic rate..This Book lifts the fog off of the myriad of questions I've had about using Flash for my experimental animation (Experimental -- to do.what you do-- until your Learn to do it right ) Many of the things I couldn't figure out how to replicate are easily and humorously unvieled in the one to one approach the author makes...And altho I would have purchased Flash for my work in the long run ..I could have used the information that there is a [amt]software that allows you to do vector animated .swf files to start out with for fun and experience before you put out your money for the full Macromedia package. in the same section Ibis tells about another professional software package that might even be BETTER than Flash if your main thrust is just making cartoon movies.. If you have this book you get the information from the outset about how to make animated cartoons for TV and film....there are frame rates ..size ratios and many things you need to adhere to before you make your- first genius run away hit cartoon series- for your website and find out it cant just be re-dubbed or magically converted at the last minute to fit TV or Spike and Mikes Roving cartoon show.. So from rudimentary character design to finished product..shortcuts.. and valuable tips, this book is the real deal... with the book and Ibis' website Flashfilmmaker.com you get a combo that can get your work up and moving ..Learn the rules the easy way and save yourself the effort of guessing how tho get the most out of your Flash,because without this book you just may be "taking the Long way around"..this is an artist friendly,easy to understand book that you'll value for years... in it's concise and entertaining manner of teaching it allows you to get to the fun stuff of making good cartoons a lot quicker!
Rating:
Summary: [WEAK]
Review: This book epitomises everything that is bad about Flash animation. Someone who can't draw and can't animate trying to bluff the general public....
Rating:
Summary: This exactly what I been looking for!
Review: This book is great because it teaches you just about everything, without nesesarally holding your hand every step of the way. It's starts by discussing the origin of cartooning and animation and gives and then goes into teaching you to draw cartoons, it also teaches you to animate them in Flash. It think it's cool how the author divided up the book. Part 1 focuses strictly on drawing and animation without Flash. Part 2 teaches you the sofware such as using the tools and learning your way around the sofware (which is usually what most Flash books usually concentrate on). Part 3 combines the skills you learned in part 1 and part 2 and teaches you how to put together a complete production. Most Flash books I have read are always vague and do nothing but document the products features and specs, this book, for the most part doesnt seem to that. I think the authors way of approaching the timeline is a much better way than what Macromedia tells you. One of the chapters teaches you how to tranfer drawings into Flash by hooking up a video camera to your computer and have a live video feed projected directly inside Flash. I tried it and it REALLY works! This is something I never in my wildest dreams thought was posible. Now I dont have to use a scanner anymore! (well at least not for flash) The Pros:
It teaches you how to draw, animate, use Flash, write a screen, play, and doesn't really rely on source files for you to learn. It seems that because the way the material is approached people who are interested in learning to animate and draw cartoons, specially in Flash, will still find this book a valuable no matter what version of Flash is you use. The Cons:
The book is in Black and white. The Images are still very nice and clean looking but the use of color would have been a real benefit. Specially in the areas where the book discusses the use of colors and gradients. There is no CD. Although the book itself does not nesessaraly rely on any sourcefiles for you to learn the material, the inclusion of a CD with goodies, maybe some cartoons or product samples is always a great little extra feature. Verdict:
It should not be the only book you buy if what you want to learn is just Flash, this book won't replace other books like the Flash Bible, etc. Instead it will compliment your collection. For people interested in learning to draw and animate cartoons with Flash this book is a must have reguardless of what version of Flash you have. I keep it next to my desk and find myself refferencing it on a daily basis.
Rating:
Summary: not good
Review: This book is really awful. i dont know how people are giving this book 5 stars, unless its the author's shameful friends....The artwork is total bush league. I recommend The Flash Animator or The Art of Flash Cartooning. At least your eyes wont bleed when you look at the artwork. This book seems like it was written by a kid in junior high. The examples are humourously awful. Buyer beware.
Rating: 
Summary: 2.5 stars Doesn't hit the mark.
Review: This book talked a lot of cartooning, then it talked about Flash and cartoon, and sometimes showed you about it. It's neither a beginner book nor an intermediate/advanced Flash cartooning book. It just doesn't hit the mark well for any of these categories. The first 116 pages (25% of the book) focus on character types and drawing them. It also touches on different types of computers that you might want to use to cartoon with. Some of the drawings are interesting and helpful, but almost a direct rip off of Christopher Hart's "How to Draw Cartoons for Comic Strips" (which is a really great drawing book by the way)
, only without the indepth instruction. Fernandez does touch on the drawing tools, yet very briefly. There is a screen shot of them and gives a brief description about them. That's pretty much it. He goes on to show about splitting up a character into symbols, the differences between importing artwork through Freehand, Streamline and using Flash itself. A horrible walk cycle example in Flash is shown. It's not in depth. It doesn't talk about moving pivots, grouping, one layer animation vs. multi-layer animation, nor squash and stretch (other than the traditional bouncing ball), swapping symbols, eyes (all which are really important and deserve attention) In the advanced techniques section, he does give some examples of rotoscoping, animating a gradient fill and a cool Japanese anime technique. He also includes some cartoon cheats about a blur and smear. (this section was good, but just too short with no examples on how to do it in Flash. The last 100 pages talk about lip sync. Fernandez does a good job here explaining and showing the different mouth positions and having a plan before you start to lip sync. He also talks about scripts, different formats (NTSC, HDTV etc) and camera techniques. There's no cd, written from a PC perspective and no mention of short cut keys. If you don't have an internet connection, no luck, but I doubt you want to download any of the examples. The book is black and white and this was a mistake. There isn't enough instruction on cartooning with Flash, but lots of ideas on how traditional animation is done and 'oh by the way, let's use Flash to show it'. If you're a beginner, buy another book that will teach you techniques as this will not give you the basics. You're wasting your money. If you're an intermediate/advanced user, it's good for ideas, but your skills are past this book. If you want to read about Flash cartooning (an overview) this book is ok. This can't be the only Flash cartooning book or 1st cartooning book you buy because it doesn't give you enough information on how to cartoon with Flash. 2.5 stars and still looking for the perfect or near perfect Flash cartooning book :(
Rating:
Summary: Very amateurish
Review: This guy can't draw and wastes a lot of time demonstrating this fact. He calls himself a professional animator, but seems to be a complete amateur.
Rating:
Summary: hopeless amateur
Review: This guy's no animator..he's a horses ass!!1 This book is a complete waste of time. The time is right for a book by professional, highly qualified animators. Let's hope one is on the horizon.
Rating: 
Summary: Cartoony Stuff
Review: This is a good-enough and likeable book about extending the capabilities of Flash into professional animation and cartooning. But a CD on the back of it would really have made my day.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Amazing!
Review: This is the only book an inspiring animator will need.
The book covers everything from an Introduction to Cartooning to Cinematography in Flash.
I was very impressed Production chapters of the book. Ibis touches everything from script writing through the Production process. Also enlightens you movie with transition effects, dolly shots, and other Hollywood techniques.
This book is definitely worth a look.
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